Shicite Thought and the Political Participation of women In the Field of Development and Gender Planning

The standpoint of modern societies towards the position of women often goes from one extreme to the other and makes the societies unbalanced. However, some development plans which reflect on gender analysis and planning have made an effort to change the women’s situation; yet they failed to consider the nature and culture of any specific society and have faced enormous challenges, mainly in Western countries.However, the Shicites believe women should be considered due to their nature, characteristics, instincts and capabilities. They can be the best model for today’s world and families. The family, for which they are the cornerstone, is absolutely their best place. Therefore, in order to pave the path to a perfect society we need to pay special attention to the culture of the society and present a real model for Muslim women and clarify their absolute rights according to Islam. This helps to place “men” and “women” in their proper position in the world and leads the society to perfection and prosperity, which provides the human being with the position of divine stewardship.